


In Need For Company

by Lunarium



Category: Year in Hereafter (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-09 13:19:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11669928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarium/pseuds/Lunarium
Summary: Jaakko struggles with extending a helping hand to the newcomer at Rautiola. In the end, he's glad he did.





	In Need For Company

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yuuago](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuuago/gifts).



> Dear recipient: this entire fic may get jossed real soon once we get all of the pages for Chapter 5, but this was fun to write all the same! :)

Rain continued into the following day, and the day next, with patches of recess accompanied by overcast skies and little to no sun. The scent of rain lingered at every turn whenever he stepped outside. Inside would greet him the smoldering heat of the forge, and beyond that, the warmth which lingered in the main living area. The other man’s scent clung onto the bed which rested atop the unlit fireplace. 

Jaakko hated him for it. 

He didn’t pull down the sheets for washing, not with said man awake and now resting at the table nearby where his eyes could take in the whole scene. Jaakko didn’t like having to give up _his_ bed but he wasn’t ready to be openly rude about it; the stomping and whining was for Sulo alone to witness. And he may have to put up with having to give up the bed for Veeti again, or hope he could convince the mage to sleep elsewhere for the night. With Sakari and that other one—Mini Mika, he remembered Sakari calling him, might be best to leave out the Mini—out of the house, there was plenty other room for Veeti to sleep. 

Speaking of, Veeti looked dreadful. He hardly ate from the bowl in front of him and shadows haunted his features. 

“A bath might go you good, like,” Jaakko said. 

_And you wouldn’t stink up my bed more_ , he added in his head. 

Veeti slowly shifted his gaze towards him, wordlessly. A million questions bubbled behind the tired eyes, but the man wasn’t in any shape for talk. He eventually gave a curt nod and stood. His knees wobbled but he quickly caught himself. 

Jaakko hesitated with his next words. He really didn’t want to, but… “Do you need a hand?” 

A hand waved him away. Nothing like Sakari, Jaakko mused, as the mage took a few tentative steps, eyes studying his surroundings, taking in the bright decor, the wood floorboard, the fireplace…

He froze in the middle of the hall. 

“Where?” 

Jaakko pointed. “On yer left.”

*

Once Veeti was out of eyesight, Jaakko hurried up the ladder to begin the reclamation process. Sulo would mock him if he got wind of this, so he had to act fast. This was _his_ bed and it always was. Perhaps once, and only once, he had reluctantly shared it with Sakari. It was storming, and Sakari was still new blood in Kalevala. The thunder had been so loud he complained of headaches and mumbled about other things Jaakko couldn’t quite catch, but he had concluded that something was haunting and terrifying him, something Sakari wouldn’t admit to. Proximity of some friendly company seemed in order. Just this one time. That was before Sakari found his own place. 

Jaakko frowned at the memory. Another brother, same situation, he mused. There better not be another Harmonsuo to disrupt him years later. 

He took the bedsheets outside to the wooden bucket waiting for him and set to task, working as fast as he could to make use of the sunlight for drying. Rain was still drizzling but it had ceased down to a light drizzle, and he needed to make use of the rare sunlight before things got wet again. 

Against some nearby leaves light rain trickled in slow, rhythmic spurt. Silent of everything else, Jaakko could hear the splatter of raindrop on a particular large, thick leaf, the drop sliding down the slick surface, the plop as it dripped from the tip, and the process repeated. 

If anyone passed by in the street, it was few and they were good to keep their voices low. The lack of sound of metal strikes indicated that Sulo was out, perhaps to see the barmaid Justiiina again. 

Jaakko wondered if Veeti had found the bath. Hoped he hadn’t taken any of his towels. 

With that disturbing thought, Jaakko had to pause over his washing to steady his nerves. If he has to wash this scent off his own towels next…

After finishing setting the sheets to dry, he washed his hands and then made for inside. Veeti hadn’t returned from the bath, and wondering if he had gotten lost, Jaakko debated about checking in on him.

It didn’t feel right, this silence, and he wasn’t up for walking in on him. They barely knew each other, but after several long seconds dragged with no sound in the house, Jaakko finally gave in. 

He didn’t expect to find Veeti standing in the hall, still in the clothes he had come in. 

“Had a nice bath?” 

“Didn’t start,” Veeti said flatly, confirming the worst suspicion. _Son of a…_

“What’re you having trouble with?” 

Veeti shrugged. “Towel. Where do you keep them?” 

Jaakko had to stop the curse from reaching his lips, but he showed Veeti to where they had kept them. “You don’t keep them in the same place in your house?” 

Veeti didn’t respond. It was only after they were done gathering up all the towels, none of which belonged to Jaakko, and other necessities Veeti needed that Jaakko realized what was really happening. 

“You sure you don’t need help? You’re still not unwell or anything…” 

“I’m fine,” came the dead response. 

“I was outside a long time and you were still lingering about in the hall, like. Let me help.” 

He prepared the bath then sat with his back turned as Veeti undressed. Which was pointless because he was going to see him nude in a moment, but the act of undressing felt like a whole different matter. 

Veeti submerged himself into the wooden bath tub slowly, fighting off a gasp and a sigh as he sunk into hot water. Jaakko slid over to the edge. 

He made a face and hoped the water’s surface didn’t betray his expression. The mage’s hair was greasy from however long he’d been out, but with the right oils, he massaged them back to life, rewarded with the texture of fine soft hair, as thick as his own mane that filled his hands with a hearty weight. 

_This isn’t too bad_ , Jaakko thought as he scrubbed his way towards Veeti’s scalp. 

Suddenly Veeti’s head fell forward, his forehead slapping the surface with a splash. 

“Oh, I killed him,” Jaakko gasped. 

“I’m _tired_ ,” Veeti growled in a low voice. He straightened his back up again. 

“Sorry,” Jaakko said. “Thought you did plenty of that already.” 

“That was something else. I was recovering from…the other world. Spirit world.” There was, thankfully, no irritation towards Jaakko in his voice. That was a step. 

His heart raced slightly faster at the mention of that. He had asked and begged Sakari many times to show him any magic, or at least give him any more insight of that other dimension, even about his own homeworld, but Sakari had kept silent about all that. 

Maybe if he got on Veeti’s good graces he could have better luck…

“Does everyone in your world grow out their hair? Or just your family?” Jaakko asked, thinking of Mika. His hair was a bit short, but it could be shorter, he supposed. 

“Some do, some don’t.” 

“Is this true for men and women?” 

“Yes. Everyone.” 

“Ah.” 

_I’m liking this_ , Jaakko confessed to himself. He noticed the scars on Veeti’s left shoulder, noted the pinched, starved look on him, and made a note to try again with feeding after. And maybe they can talk some more, if Veeti was feeling up to it. 

But the bed was his. That was law.

*

“So you were fighting a monsters, and you were outside your body?” Jaakko said, amazed. “How do you do that, like?” 

“I’m not going to show you now,” Veeti said before taking another sip of tea. A bowl of stew lay before him on the table. Half-eaten, but it was a start. “Some of us can spirit-walk.” 

“But you got trapped?” 

“That’s right.” 

“And that’s why you were out cold.” Jaakko nodded his head. 

Veeti sighed over his cup. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. When are Sakari and Mika coming back?” 

“They’ll be back soon,” Jaako replied, slightly deflated by Veeti’s tone. “And maybe you just needed someone to talk to?” 

“I’m not someone who likes company,” Veeti said. “I work alone.” 

“Oh.” 

Veeti glanced off into the distance for a few moments before meeting Jaakko’s eyes again. His smile, small as it was, was genuine and glowed. “But thank you for helping me in the bath.”

Jaakko smiled as he pulled his cup of tea closer. “No problem. Looked like you needed some company.”

*

“I know what I’m doing.” Veeti’s voice carried a tinge of amusement as his fingers carded through the thick mane of red hair. Jaakko whimpered lightly as Veeti pulled the braid apart. “When was the last time you had it unbraided? You keep it like this forever, no one will tell when your hair’s actually down.” 

More hair unfurled in his hands. They splashed around in the tub like rays of a blood-red sunlight. 

“I need to wear it like this,” Jaakko argued as he sunk into the tub. “Keeps from getting in the way of my work, like.” 

“But you refuse to cut it.” 

“When are you leaving again?” 

Veeti smirked. “Am I annoying you already? You’ll have to put up with me for another week before Sakari and Mika return.” 

Many years later later, a different adventure. This time Jaakko was part of it, once he was done forging all the swords they needed. Veeti had returned for a little respite, a chance for them to enjoy in the other’s company before they were to head out together with the needed supplies or await the return of their friends, whichever came first. 

Jaakko made a dramatic display of his sigh. “Guess that’s the price to pay for falling in love with you.” 

“Guess it is,” Veeti mused loudly as he tugged more on the braid. “Not much of a tender bath-giver—sorry.” 

His hand slipped and Jaakko fell forward, smacking his face on the surface of the water. Spluttering, he got back up and gave Veeti a grimace and a thumbs up. 

It was going to be a long bath.


End file.
